Review: A Pius Man - A Holy Thriller by Declan Finn
Giovanni Figlia, the head of Vatican security, is about to die of boredom. After all, who in their right mind is going to attack the first African pope?
When a body is forcibly ejected from a hotel room to land on his car, Figlia’s boredom vanishes. But when more bodies turn up, he soon wishes he had it back. With the head of the Catholic Church in the crosshairs and allies who may be enemies at his side, he has to find a way to protect Pope Pius XIII – preferably without dying in the process!
The story
Like all good murder mysteries, A Pius Man starts with a corpse. The victim is David Gerrity, a Harvard professor obsessed with learning, family, and teaching. He’s come to do some research at the Vatican and, this morning, has discovered something fantastic in the photos he took of the records in the Vatican library’s vault. Taking these items out of the vault isn’t allowed due to their delicate nature – and, of course, the possibility that someone will destroy them after absconding with them. In the manner of Archimedes with his “Eureka!”, Gerrity becomes excited and prepares to go back to the archives. When he goes to the door to leave his room, he is confronted by a bellman, who shoots him dead, then prepares to erase his research. But this assassin’s not the brightest bulb in the box, and curiosity is a fickle human trait. He can’t help but peek at what Gerrity was working on, despite being ordered not to do so. Eyes widening at what he reads, he contacts his employers… …Only to be blown up and killed himself, to land unceremoniously on top of Giovanni Figlia’s car. Figlia is transporting Wilhelmina “Villie” Goldberg – a Secret Service agent – to the Vatican, where she is to consult with others on the Pope’s security. While Figlia goes up into the hotel to have a look at the crime scene, Villie snaps photos of the dead man, who is given the last rites by a Father Frank when he happens to be walking by. This occurs before Sean Ryan arrives at the scene looking for Father Frank, who missed their “usual meeting.” All that action takes place in the prologue and the first two chapters, after which, things happen fast. Clues confuse other clues, leading to wrong conclusions and confrontations that bring in more dead bodies. Who is friend, who is foe? Only God and the devil know. Time for the heroes to make order out of chaos – even if they have to resort to some extreme pyrotechnics to pull it off!
The characters
There is a lot of “head swapping” – i.e. changing perspectives – in this novel. Despite the rapid pace and odd “jumps” from character to character’s head, we get to know them all well during the tale. Father Frank is mysterious but also fun. Giovanni is diligent with a sense of humor. Villie is sarcastic and a fun companion. Of all the characters in this book, though, I have to say that Sean A.P. Ryan is still my favorite. The grandson of a World War II veteran and a Hollywood stunt man, playing the hero on the silver screen wasn’t good enough for Sean because it was all fake. Fighting real bad guys and making sure they can’t hurt anyone anymore? Now that’s a job he’s willing and ready to take. Being a disaster magnet doesn’t hurt, either. Hired to train Vatican security to defend against attacks, Sean draws more trouble than a cat on its ninth life running from the devil with its tail on fire. He’s a breath of fresh air as a special operative in a thriller, being cheerful rather than angst-ridden and unhesitating in dealing out the punishment the villains richly deserve.
The world
The world is a saner version of the real one. It’s so sane, in fact, I half wish we lived in it. Even with all the explosions and intrigue, the return to sanity would be a relief so palpable it would be painful.
The politics
Such politics as there are boil down to, “Everyone hates the Catholic Church, so the Church had better remember she’s a battleship, and she should maintain discipline in case of attack.” The entire story is basically a warning: Don’t mess with the Catholic Church, and you won’t be hurt. If you cross her – well, you asked for it.
Content warning
A Pius Man is easily one of the most PG-13 thrillers I have ever read. The violence isn’t over the top and the brief romantic scenes are easily skipped if they bother a reader.
Who is it for?
Those who enjoy thrillers, particularly [easyazon_link identifier="B000OI0FVW" locale="US" tag="upstreamreviews-20"]Stephen Hunter’s series following Bob Lee Swagger[/easyazon_link]. Marvel Comics fans will love it, too. If Marvel’s brains weren’t currently being eaten by the Woke zombie virus, they’d hire Finn based on his performance in this book alone. This is how superheroes are supposed to be written – and since all the characters here are normal humans, is saying something.
Why read it?
How many other books can you read where the bad guys are killed in explosions that do massive property damage, and not only do none of the heroes turn a hair, but the men up the command chain accept that it was necessary? Move over, Nick Fury. There’s a new director in town, and you can’t bluff your way past him. In fact, you might be able to learn a few things from him.